“That’s it!” Lainey whispered excitedly. “Dust, Grit, and Grace.That’s a perfect title.”
“For what?” a gorgeous woman with Lucille Ball red hair asked as she stopped beside Lainey and glanced down at her camera.
“Oh, I …” Lainey paused and realized the woman carried the same baby that was in her photograph. “Are you Mrs. Kressley?”
The woman grinned, and Lainey scooted over so she could take a seat on the aisle. “I’m Celia Kressley. I see you have a photo of Kash and Addie Kate. Any reason for that?”
Lainey nodded. “I met your husband earlier. I hope you don’t mind, but Jason Price suggested I sit here with you. If you’d rather I didn’t, I have a seat in that section over there.” Lainey pointed to a section that would not have a good view of anything except the big monitor on the opposite end of the arena.
“No, please stay.” Celia set the diaper bag she carried by Lainey’s feet, then settled Addie Kate on her lap. The baby gnawed on a teething ring, and Celia used a burp rag to wipe away the drool running down the baby’s chin.
“Teething?” Lainey asked, smiling at the baby and receiving a slobbery grin around the hot pink teething ring.
“Yes. She just started getting a new tooth yesterday. Because she can get wildly cranky and behave more like me than her easygoing daddy when she’s teething, I sat out this rodeo.” Celia brushed the hair back from Addie Kate’s face and kissed her daughter’s forehead.
“You take photos?” Lainey asked, trying to recall what Jason had said about his employer’s wife.
Celia nodded and motioned to Lainey’s camera. “I’m a rodeo photographer. You’re the Faces author, aren’t you?”
Lainey nodded. “Guilty as charged. I have one more interview and photo shoot to finish up the portraits for my next book.”
“Really. What’s it about?” Celia caught the teething ring before Addie Kate could toss it.
“Matriarchs in the West—you know, the women who are the glue that hold together their families or businesses. It’s been incredible to meet all the women I’m including in the book.”
“It sounds fantastic.” Celia pulled a sippy cup out of the diaper bag and handed it to Addie Kate. The infant took a few slurps and then looked like she was going to launch the cup into space. Celia grabbed it and set it back in the bag, and pulled out a soft storybook. Recognizing it, Addie Kate squealed with delight and began slapping the pages and babbling in her own language.
“That must be a favorite book,” Lainey observed.
“One of her favorites.” Celia turned the page, and Lainey could see colorful illustrations of animals in a barnyard. “So, what brings you here, of all places, today?”
Lainey shrugged. “I’m due in Tillamook, Oregon, next week and decided, since I was only thirty minutes away, to check out the rodeo today before I head north.”
“I’m glad you did.” Celia motioned to the camera that Lainey still held. “May I see some of your other photos? Although, I admit Kash and Addie Kate are my two favorite subjects.”
Lainey laughed. “Want to trade? I’ll hold Addie Kate while you look.”
“Are you sure?” Celia asked, glancing at Lainey’s blouse. “She’s apt to slobber on you, or worse.”
“I don’t mind. It isn’t often I get a chance to hold an adorable little one.”
“Then by all means.” Celia set Addie Kate on Lainey’s lap, then took the camera from Lainey’s hand.
While the woman browsed the photos on the camera, Lainey found herself thoroughly enraptured with the baby on her lap.
Addie Kate patted her hand on the book and babbled something that Lainey assumed meant it was time for her to turn the page.
She bent down and lightly rested her cheek against the soft curls on Addie Kate’s head, breathing in the delicious scent of baby. For a moment, she closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift to dreams that had died years ago, then she opened her eyes and turned the page for Addie Kate.
Lainey glanced over to see Celia wasn’t quickly flipping through the images but studying each one. It was one thing for nameless, faceless people to purchase a book full of her photographs, but to have a fellow photographer slowly sift through them made her nervous.
Rather than show it, she focused her attention on the infant wiggling on her lap. The baby looked like a mix of both of her parents, although it was easy to see she was her mother’s daughter.
“These are incredible, Lainey.” Celia smiled at her before looking back at the camera’s screen. “You said something about a title before I so rudely interrupted you. Was it for a future book?”
“Maybe. I’m kicking around the idea of doing a Faces book with a rodeo theme. Not just the athletes but anyone connected to it, like a silversmith, for example.”
“Oh, my gosh! That would be an amazing book.” Celia gave her a sheepish look. “I have to confess, I’m fangirling a bit right now. I’ve loved every single one of the books you’ve published,but my favorite wasProtect and Serve.You put so much heart into that one.”
